Makeda Johnson, President & CEO, Urban League of Greater Miami, Inc.

Invest: sat down with Makeda Johnson, president and CEO of the Urban the League of Greater Miami, Inc., to discuss her priorities as the organization’s first woman CEO, from raising its visibility and strengthening partnerships to tackling housing affordability, workforce development, and long-term community impact. “Having a seat at the table is imperative, and so is being able to be a voice for those who may not have a seat at the table,” Johnson said.

What has been your top priority in reshaping the Urban League’s visibility and impact in Miami?

Coming in behind a monumental leader in T. Willard Fair and stepping in as the first woman CEO, one of my biggest priorities has been uplifting our strategic plan, which is Legacy, Leadership, Lift. That means stepping into the legacy of the affiliate, which has been around since 1943, and making sure people realize and remember that we are still here.

It also means focusing on the leadership of the organization and making sure the staff here has the ability to move to the next step. I ask them what their goals are, what their dreams are, and how we can support that. It is also about lifting up the organization and helping the community by being intentional with our partnerships. We are being collaborative and making sure we are aligned around education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and workforce development to really bring those priorities to the forefront in Miami-Dade County.

What does reintroducing the Urban League to the community look like in practice?

It looks like me needing a clone. It looks like me doing a lot of things and going out into the community. I tell everybody, if you know me, support is a verb. It is not just saying you want to be a partner, but actually showing that and showing what that looks like.

For example, if a school reaches out and says it wants more programming, then I want to connect them with someone who can actually bring that programming in. It is about being authentic about what we are talking about. It is also about showing up at events. It is not enough to say you support the community. You have to be present in the community and have those conversations.

I am intentional about the collaborations we have. I do not want it to be a situation where you only call me when you need something and I only call you when I need something. I want us to know what is going on and talk about how we can change Miami for the better and work with the people who need our help. We recently had an event where I was tabling myself, and people said they had never seen a president and CEO doing that. I do not mind being in the community and connecting directly with people. Visibility is huge for me.

How are you ensuring that the Urban League’s different pillars work together as a cohesive strategy rather than as separate programs?

They all work hand in hand. If I am looking at financial empowerment, I also have to look at workforce development. I cannot tell someone to work on their finances without also asking what job they have, what certifications they have, and what their educational path looks like. You cannot separate those things.

It is nonsensical to say you can focus on education without talking about financial empowerment, or financial empowerment without workforce development. They have to work together. It has to be strategic. It cannot be a situation of working in silos because that is not how the community works.

A lot of that comes down to intentionality. We have staff meetings together so everybody knows what is going on. If I have a family whose children are in an after-school program and that family loses housing, then it is my job to connect them to our vice president of housing empowerment to see whether we have something that can help. It is also about helping them connect to employment opportunities. It has to be a continuous synergy.

What role can the Urban League play in advancing equitable access to housing in Miami?

Having a seat at the table is imperative, and so is being able to be a voice for those who may not have a seat at the table. The Urban League owns and operates a for-profit organization called New Urban Development, which develops housing throughout the state of Florida. That gives us the ability to identify areas that need more affordable housing.

The face of homelessness is not what it used to be. It is not just somebody without a job. In Miami today, there are many people who work full time and still cannot afford housing. They may have degrees. They may have done what they were supposed to do, and they still cannot afford to live in a major city.

What we try to do is place people in housing and work with those already in our developments to ask what their next step is. We offer first-time homebuyer classes. We work with organizations across the city to understand what is working well and how we can support that. We also help people with credit and with understanding the full cost of housing. Affordability is about more than having the monthly rent. It is also about whether someone can save for a down payment or cover the first month, last month, and deposit. We focus on connections, resources, and being resourceful for the community, while also having honest conversations about what needs to happen in housing.

What initiatives or partnerships are you most excited about in helping residents build long-term financial resilience?

Since I have been here, I have met amazing partners and amazing people who have been extremely welcoming, both to me as the first woman CEO of this organization and to my family in Miami. I am excited about all of it.

We are working with people like Matt Anderson at Mosaic Miami on a unity walk. We are having conversations at the county and city levels. We are talking with leaders like Michelle Shirley at Be Strong around mental health and mental illness, and with partners like Chapman Partnership for people who are housing insecure. We are also speaking with banks like Merrill Lynch.

Beyond that, we are one of seven Urban League affiliates in Florida, and through the Florida consortium, we talk regularly about what is needed across the state. We advocate heavily. I was in Washington, D.C., meeting with representatives and senators to tell them what communities are saying they need and how we can help make it happen. We are also working with the Greater Miami Chamber and having conversations about what the Urban League can do and how to make sure we are in position to do it. It is imperative to be at the table.

What does success look like for you and for the Urban League over the next few years?

Success looks like a successful first strategic plan, but it is also reintroducing the Urban League in a real way. Because we have been around for so long, people sometimes forget the work we have done and what that has looked like. A big part of success is letting people know the Urban League is here, we are back, we are ready to serve, we are active, and we are visible.

If people look at our website or our social media, I want them to see that we are out here doing the work. But success is also about outcomes. It would mean seeing fewer people facing homelessness. It would mean helping address the childcare crisis in Miami-Dade County. It would mean supporting after-school programs and continuing to meet the needs we see in the community.

This is my fourth Urban League affiliate. I started at the Buffalo Urban League, then worked in Charlotte and Winston-Salem. In those communities, the Urban League is pivotal to the success of the community. That is the hope for Miami. A lot of people already have success stories about what the Urban League has meant to them. The goal now is to make sure the next generation has those same success stories about what the Urban League has done for them as we continue to move forward.